Poured orange/copper into a pint glass, with less than a finger of white, average retention, and good lacing. Smelled of caramel, roasted malt, and toffee. Tasted very malty, with caramel, toffee, roasted malt, and even a subtle hint of chocolate, with a semi-dry finish. Thicker than expected, but also more carbonation than expected to balance it out. Great tasting beer, but still might be a little too thick to session.

A - Pours a clear copper amber color with a fatty three-finger head that's creamy but loosely packed and off-white. Good retention but no lacing as the head dropped. Foam til the very end though!

S - Strong aroma of toasted Munich malts and a hint at some nice caramelization sweetness going on. Also has a good crisp, mellow hop aroma at the end that balanced well. Pleasing nose.

T - Very sweet and strong malts come at you right off the bat but quickly balance with an earthy and mildly grassy hop flavor.

M - Incredibly smooth and creamy! It's still well carbonated but gets lost in the nice feel. Dry and very lightly bitter at the end.

D - It's a great example of an Oktoberfest beer! Delicious and great feeling, it's a very drinkable beer I could have plenty of! It's possible the sweetness could get just a bit cloying but I'm not too worried about it.

Mendocino must have changed the labels on this beer, because the one I'm looking at has the exact same label as pictured but says Autumn Lager instead of Oktoberfest Lager. Anyways, pours a clear, copper color with minimal head. Smells slightly citrusy and a little medicinal with some hints of wet grass. First hit of flavor has some nice, toasted malt and then a hit of tingle from the carbonation followed by some strong bitterness. Body is OK, and the finish is lingering with some mildly astringent bitterness. Balance is only fair, which lowers the drinkability.

Appearance: Pours a clear reddish copper. The off-white head quickly fades to a ring around the glass.

Smell: This is where the theme of a balanced lager starts. A subtle aroma of malt then hops presents itself. Unfortunately, the aroma is somewhat faint.

Taste: Like the smell, the taste isn't too strong, but the balance makes it interesting. The sweet malt taste sets you up for a clean, dry hop finish. I think the subtlety in taste might be working for this lager.

Mouthfeel: Medium body. I wouldn't say its heavy on carbonation, but more than I would have thought (perhaps becuase of the subtlety of the flavor).

Drinkability: It seems to me like this would be a great session lager. The aroma and taste are not very powerful, and the balance is interesting enough to hold your attention.

M: Moderately full-bodied. Rather dry into the finish. Carbonation is on the crisp side.

D: A surprisingly nice marzen from Mendocino. One of the best beers I've tasted from this brewery. Firm, flavorful, and just solid all-around. I've had many less impressive American Oktoberfests. Worth checking out.

Poured into a standard (Full Sail) pint glass. Clear, dark copper color with hints of brown and brass. Very thin white head that subsides to just a rim. Minus on appearance for lack of head even with a rough pour.

Aroma - lots of sweet malt with some fruitiness to it. Well done on the aroma. Enjoyable and easy to appreciate.

Extremely clean flavor. Nothing heavy on the tounge or lingering sweetness I associate with lagers.

Really surprised at how much I'm enjoying this beer. If you told me it was a sweet smelling lager, I'd probably pass. The dryness on the finish works very well against/complimenting the sweet nose.

As I drink and as it warms, I begin to get more flavor from the finish. The malt sweetness, in moderation, begins to linger on the tongue - in a positive way.

As Oktoberfests go, this one is easy to enjoy and one of the better, albeit few, that I've had.

Not a bad Octoberfest/Marzen. The nose on the beer right from the bottle was a bit metallic and musty, but the negatives dissipated soon thereafter. I will attribute some of the off aromas to the fact that the beer may be past its prime. The beer is a nice copper amber color, very clear, a decent off white head, no lacing, some retention. The nose, after it settled a bit, was very sweet malts, lots of caramel malts, some roasted hints, some earthy and musty notes as well.

The taste is quite nice, a touch syrupy, low carbonation, light to medium bodied. This beer is typical for the style. It has lots of caramels, some roasted malts, a bit of a metallic tinge in there as well. There is a slight spicey bite in the finish. The beer has the sweet malts up front but dries considerable in the finish. As the beer settles down, the finish and aftertaste get more bittering and assertive in character. This isn't the most complex of beers, but it is a decent Octoberfest.

Pours a nice copper colour in the great oktoberfest tradition. Very little head which dispates quickly. Nice scents, of caramel and fruity esthers. Problem is, it is very sweet and syrupy, which does not agree. Very drinkable, however, just not a top of the line oktoberfest, but nothing bad.

Pours a clear amber color. 1/3 inch head with slight retention and no lacing. Smells mainly of hops with a little malt. Fits the style, I guess. Smooth, crisp, with low carbonation. Tastes of a dark lager, with only slight hops noticeable. Mostly malt and lager. Good malt aftertaste. Overall, a little weak in the body for me.

T - good in the malt department. Sweet and rich with juicy fruits in the middle. Finishes bittersweet (more so sweet) with a touch of grassy hops.

M - medium bodied, highly carbonated. Decently smooth

D - quite drinkable, could easily put a few of these down during dinner

Overall - This beer would pair well with a number of summer cookout foods as well as a standalone refreshment. Probably the best Mendocino product I've had yet, as I have not been too happy with the majority of their brews. Got this for a steal too! Around $4 for a 6 pack... wow! A decent representative of the style although I have had better.

Poured side-by-side with a Left Hand Oktober to see who's head stayed longer. This baby's foam went -poof- in a wink with no lacing to tell the story. It's got a nice maple orange color.

The smell is pungent, fruity and super-sweet. At the end there some oakiness and a whiff of a burning leave pile like, uhhh, October. The flavor is too malty and sickly sweet. Hazelnut and other nuttiness comes into play for balance, but it has a slightly metallic finish which gets worse as it warms up.

Easier to drink than other malty Oktoberfests, but finish it while its still cold. It lost to the Left Hand.

Appearance: This brew pours quite well. The head is plentiful and has a nice creamy color. Lacings are about average for this type of beer. The color is a deep amber...quite inline with traditional Maerzens.

Smell: Another victory for this selection. The aroma is also inline with any German production premium Maerzen. Earthy overtones mixed with malt. Impressive.

Taste: Very good flavor curve. Not peaked at any point but more of a peaked taper. Initially the hops bite then tapers into a hearty malt. Sustain has hops overtones (tangy bitterness) but it is not overpowering. Sustain is excellent with finishing hops evident. My guess would be that Bavarian Hops were used during the final malting stages. Overall, the taste was superior.

Mouthfeel: Well, this brew performed very well in this category also. The overall presence is crisps and not suppressing to the palete. Sometimes Oktoberfest beers can leave the palate as feeling stifled and suppressed. Not here. Excellent sustain still leaves the palate ready for either a sausage or a pretzel! :-) Good job.

Drinkability: I was left wanting another (or two). This says it all about the drinkability of this brew. Excellent selection. This ber is highly recommended.

Conclussions: This is an EXCELLENT selection for fall. Munich would be proud....but in this case Mendocino should be proud!